Busan Central Plaza: pedestrians highway

Plaza has existed as a place of experience for us than traditional urban space like in Western. Plaza is quite flexible space that justify by using empty place like as a plaza rather than just given space. It’s not just a Ground of Figure or Void. It is created through urban experience that using certain place as a plaza and appropriation. Planning 730m long 8 lanes road to plaza is also one part of this process and it has to be a momentum of realizing plaza’s way of using which was called by citizen and modern experience of urban and plaza.

Plaza experience of floating modern big city aims continuous connection and movement. Plaza doesn’t exist only to stay. It refuses to define itself as the destination of city or goal needed to reach. New type of Plaza is existing for the possibility of reorganizing and right to travel freely which was deprived to guarantee endless moving of transportations by modern urban plan.

Plaza connects streets, sometimes becomes street by itself and makes endless flow. For us who didn’t have plaza before, it’s our way of designing plaza by monopolizing streets to use as a plaza. People can access to plaza from everywhere and it’s connected to everywhere. As a shape of new urban experience, plaza is highway for human. Plaza is large pedestrian passage.

Pedestrians highway: wide pedestrian road for traversing city, urban right of pedestrian

The site of Busan Central Plaza is a main road connecting between Seomyeon, Bujeong market and Yangjeong, city hall. However, because of the road situation focused on car road and lack of inflow facility, it’s hard to find pedestrian here. Plaza have to bring floating populations of most densely populated area in Busan including residents at connected area to the site. The distance of 730m long plaza is over the scale of ambulatory range. It’s a pedestrian highway which functions as a special urban device to bring pedestrians.

Pedestrian highway as we call it, makes people can cross city without any disturbance by paving with smooth and continuous flat surface. Experience of pedestrian about highway looks like, freely walkable at speed each one wants, huge void space roles as a device to imprint right of pedestrian to the city.

Urban pallet: urban renewal device, private space on the street, plaza in plaza

longitudinal plaza can border with urban cell as its length and it designed considering the relationship with streets that existing urban cell has. Some part of the area bordering to plaza is already organized or planning to be organized by District Unit Planning in future. Through this, 730m’s urban cell that borders plaza is connected to the plaza by organized road and planned road on the District Unit Planning.

Urban pallet facing urban cell gives space phase of street-block to inside of plaza. Dividing 730m distance to small uprising plate of 27m is to connect urban cells facing plaza and at the same time, by occupying plaza in units of alley, it roles as a buffer of existing urban cell that suddenly borders huge open space. Also, as it functions as a ‘sub-plaza’ where people can stay in the speedy movement of pedestrian road, it works as a device arousing staying, resting, private activities that is hard to happen at large scale plaza. Urban pallet looks like status of urban block is suggested as a grammar for the city controlling cells bordering plaza for a way of organizing large scale open space with pedestrian highway.

Plaza expansion: surface area from 60% to 100%

12 lanes road crossing Busan plaza have occupied almost 40% of area of whole plaza. Road and plaza is connecting with continuous surface on the same level without boundary stone and divided by bollard. They can be used as one continuous space for large scale performance or events. Also by using similar paving, pedestrian looks like expanded. Plaza is also designed to accept various events in longitudinal side. Various slope such as 2% (entrance part of plaza), 4% (floor of water area), 6% (slope area), 18%(scenic view terrace) and more make plaza to Barrier Free Zone and also for stage and auditorium for open air performance.

Underground plaza: extension of ground space and purification facilities for restoration of Jeonpo stream

Basement is a space following the rules of constructing of plaza and it induce people using subway to plaza through public programs. Restored Jeonpo stream by Busan citizens’ park planning becomes a trail by designed as underground water way. Water of Jeonpo Stream is providing to upper water space and Eco Marsh through purification facility and leftover is sending back to the stream after purifying.

Material preservation and relocation

Try to recycle or rearrange existing materials for landscape as much as possible such as plants and stones. Existing trees are preserve for Mall. Plant hygrophyte likes reed, flame grass at eco marsh to purify restoration planned Jeonpo stream. Select new plants that tree-nesting looks like colonnade on the level of pedestrian such as birch, poplar, pitch pine. For arrange of Plaza make view terrace by layering cut soil, ascon and concrete.